Questing for Gems
On November 20, 1968, Tiffany & Co. for the
first time displayed jewelry made from a
mineral that the firm's vice president, Henry
B. Platt, had christened tanzanite. It is, in
effect, a new gemstone. Tanzanite was dis
covered, in circumstances still unclear, in
Tanzania, East Africa, in 1967.
In chemical composition tanzanite is a
variety of zoisite, which is found in many
parts of the world but has never yielded gem
quality stones. This has led some authorities
to believe that tanzanite may be a fluke of
nature, a onetime creation.
Pocket-size Mine Yields a Giant Reward
Have all the dramatic discoveries of great
gems been made? No indeed. Miracles still
happen. The world's eighth largest diamond,
the 601.25-carat Lesotho Diamond, was found
in May 1967 by Ernestine Ramaboa, wife of
the owner of a 30-foot-square diamond claim
in Lesotho, the enclave in South Africa form
erly known as Basutoland. She came upon it
while panning gravel.
PetrusRamaboa,afarmer-turned-diamond
miner, had staked out his tiny claim and dug
patiently for five years, averaging only 25 to
30 cents a day with rice-size stones-until his
wife unearthed this egg-size gem.
Alone, for her husband was in Maseru,
Lesotho's capital, Mrs. Ramaboa wrapped
the gem in a cloth and pinned it inside her
dress pocket, telling no one except her two
brothers until her husband returned.
Since he had only $4 cash, Ramaboa could
not afford the $19.50 air fare back to Maseru.
So, slipping the treasure into his pocket, he
and his wife walked and hitchhiked for four
days over 110 miles of dirt roads.
I heard this fascinating rags-to-riches story
at Harry Winston, Inc., in New York City.
Winston had bought the gem from J. W. Ver
ney for a reported $649,000. Verney had
bought it from Eugena Sarafini, who in turn
had bought it from Ramaboa for $302,400.
After the purchase, Winston sent the dia
mond-by registered mail-to New York.
The Ramaboas followed, at his invitation,
to see "what would happen to their baby."
After months of study, during which more
than 20 replicas were made, the decision was
made and the stone cleaved on March 5, 1968,
by Mr. Pastor Colon, Jr. (page 860). Cutting
has now been completed; the rough yielded
18 gems of various sizes and shapes, the
largest of which weighs 71.73 carats.
In that story of miraculous good luck and
sudden wealth lies a part of the romance of
gems, which have imparted lasting beauty
to the life of mankind for centuries.
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